Serafina and the Black Cloak (30 page)

“Amen,” Mr. Vanderbilt said, nodding. Then he turned and stepped toward her pa. “And you, sir. Where have you been hiding this daughter of yours all these years?”

“She’s a good girl, sir,” her pa said, both proudly and protectively as he came forward. Serafina could see the worry in his eyes about how Mr. Vanderbilt was going to
react.

“I’m sure she is,” Mr. Vanderbilt said, laughing. “And it’s to her father’s credit, I say.”

“Thank you, sir,” her pa said, taken aback by Mr. Vanderbilt’s generous words as Mr. Vanderbilt shook her pa’s hand. She could see the relief in her father’s
expression as he looked over at her.

Then Mr. Vanderbilt looked at his nephew. “And you, sir, where have
you
been hiding this new friend of yours?”

“Here and there,” Braeden said with a grin. “Believe me, sir, she’s easy to hide.”

“Well, I can say this much, Braeden,” he said as he put his arm warmly around him. “You know how to pick good friends, and there are few skills more important in the world than
that. Well done, I say, well done.”

She loved the smile that flooded across Braeden’s face when his uncle congratulated him.

Mrs. Vanderbilt reached out and led Serafina by the hand. “Come with me into the house, little darling.”

As she walked toward the house with Braeden and her pa, and several others, Serafina thought about what a wondrous thing it was. She had lived in the basement of Biltmore all her life, but this
was the first time that she had ever walked in through the front door, and it made her feel like she was walking on a cloud. She felt like a real person.

“Now, let’s us girls talk, shall we?” Mrs. Vanderbilt said as she put her arm around her. “Tell me, do you and your pa like it down in the basement?”

“Yes, ma’am, we do, but don’t you mind that we’re living there?”

“Well, I can’t say it’s the norm, and I can’t imagine it being very comfortable down there for you. Do you even have proper linens?”

“No, ma’am,” she said sheepishly. “I sleep behind the boiler.”

“Ah, I see,” Mrs. Vanderbilt said, horrified. “I think we can do better than that. I’ll send down a couple of proper beds with nice, soft, down-filled mattresses; a full
set of sheets and blankets; and, of course, some pillows. How does that sound?”

“It sounds wonderful, ma’am,” Serafina said, glowing with anticipation. She just hoped she’d do it soon, because after all that had happened, she wanted to get under
those covers and sleep for a week.

“Good, it’s settled, then,” Mrs. Vanderbilt said, pleased, as she looked at her husband.

“Sounds like a perfect plan,” Mr. Vanderbilt agreed. “It’s important that we take good care of the estate’s C.R.C., especially with the kind of rats that we have
around here.”

Serafina smiled. Mr. V. didn’t know the half of it.

As they went into the house, she turned and looked out across the forested mountains.

She knew now that there were darker forces in the world than she had ever imagined, and brighter ones, too. She didn’t know exactly where she fit into it all, or what role she would play,
but she knew now that she was part of it, part of the world, not just watching it. And she knew that her fate wasn’t set by how or where she was born, but the decisions she made and the
battles she fought. It didn’t matter if she had eight toes or ten, amber eyes or blue. What mattered was what she set out to do.

She wondered with excitement what her mother would teach her in the days ahead, what new skills she’d learn, and what new things she’d see, walking through the day and prowling
through the night.

She looked at the statues of the stone lions just outside the mansion’s front doors. She wasn’t just the Chief Rat Catcher anymore, but the defender against intruders and evil
spirits. She was the protector of Biltmore Estate.

She was the hunter, the
Guardian
.

And her name was Serafina.

I
would like to thank the staff and management of Biltmore Estate for their support of
Serafina and the Black Cloak
and their commitment to
preserving an important part of America’s history for the public to enjoy. Biltmore Estate is a wonderful place to visit and see where Serafina prowled, including the basement, the Banquet
Hall, the Winter Garden, Mr. Vanderbilt’s library, the hidden door in the Billiard Room, and so much more.

I would like to thank my wonderful editors at Disney•Hyperion, Emily Meehan and Laura Schreiber, and my excellent agent, Bill Contardi, for their belief in Serafina, their insightfulness in
improving the manuscript, and their dedication to bringing her story to the world in the best possible way.

I would also like to acknowledge my wife, Jennifer, and my daughters, Camille and Genevieve, who played an important role in the creation and refinement of the Serafina story. My name may be on
the cover, but this has been a grand labor of love for our whole family. I would also like to thank my two brothers, Paul and Chris, who have been with me from the beginning.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the people who helped me to become a better writer over the years, including Tom Jenks and Carol Edgarian at
Narrative
magazine for their friendship
and writing mentorship, Alan Rinzler for his editing and guidance, Allison Itterly for her work on the early version of
Serafina
, and all the other editors and readers who provided feedback
on my writing over the years. If I have any ability to write at all, it’s because I’ve been listening carefully to all of you.

ROBERT BEATTY
lives in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife and three daughters. He writes full-time now, but in his past lives
he was one of the pioneers of cloud computing, the founder/CEO of Plex Systems, the co-founder of
www.beatty-robotics.com
, and the CTO and chairman of
Narrative
magazine.

Visit him online at
www.robert-beatty.com